Looking to the future

‘A thriving academic school, in exquisite surroundings steeped in history, with highly motivated pupils who are hungry to learn’ is how The Good Schools Guide sums up The King’s School, Canterbury.

The tradition of education in Canterbury goes back to 597AD, when St Augustine arrived to evangelize England. It is from these roots that The King’s School was founded, gaining its current name following the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1541 by Henry VIII. In the next hundred years several former pupils (OKS) achieved national fame. Among these were Christopher Marlowe the playwright contemporary of Shakespeare and William Harvey the scientist who discovered the circulation of the blood.

It was the Victorian Headmasters who transformed King’s into a ‘public school’ with a national reputation. Buildings were improved and academic standards raised. This success has continued throughout the modern era and it is no surprise that recent OKS have achieved fame in a variety of fields.  Notable former pupils include War Horse author and former Children’s laureate Michael Morpurgo, Sir Hugh Robertson from the world of politics, ex England cricketer David Gower, Olympic rowers Frances Houghton and Tom Ransley and successful businesspeople Sir Ian Cheshire and Nicola Shaw.

The future for the School looks promising too. Over the past decade King’s has completed a series of ambitious developments, which are having a profound effect on teaching, learning and the Performing Arts in the impressive new Malthouse theatre and it doesn’t stop there.

Next on the horizon is a state-of-the-art Science Centre at the heart of the School. Set across four floors and incorporating eight new laboratories, break-out areas and a science auditorium the new building will increase the opportunities for pupils to experience real science and look to inspire the next generation of scientists who might follow in the footsteps of another former pupil, Michael Foale, the first Briton to walk in space.

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